Creative reseach by UCSD professors, graduate students to be highlighted

An annual symposium that highlights the work of graduate students and professors taking creative approaches to solving problems will be held Thursday at UC San Diego.

The Founder’s Symposium was first offered in 2011 as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration and is open to the public. It will feature six speakers who will talk about their research and how their work translates into real-world benefits.

The free event was moved to a bigger campus venue to accommodate the anticipated crowd.

“They are like TED talks, very short and interactive,” said university spokeswoman Judy Piercey. “And the research these academic stars are working on is unbelievable.”

Faculty members and graduate students will present brief talks on topics including connecting those without Internet access to the benefits of online learning, research into the microbial world, mapping the human brain with 2-D and 3-D images, historical research on multiracial societies and the chemical makeup of rocks from outer space.

Scheduled to speak at the event are Jamie Alexandre, a graduate student in the Department of Cognitive Science; Eric Allen, an associate professor of marine biology research; Jacopo Annese, an assistant professor in residence in the Department of Radiology; Jessica Graham, an assistant professor in the Department of History; Dana Velasco Murillo, an assistant professor in the Department of History; and Morgan Nunn Martinez, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

The event begins with a reception at 4 p.m. The symposium starts at 5 p.m. in the Price Center’s east ballroom. Anyone interested in attending is asked to call (858) 534-6386 or send an email to sep@ucsd.edu